The present invention relates to a clothes dryer equipped with a condensation unit in which a drum containing laundry that is to be dried is horizontally supported by bearings and which is capable of condensing the water in the humid air sent from the drum. More specifically, the invention relates to a clothes dryer which suppresses the rise in temperature and humidity in the room when the dryer is in operation, which is small in size and which makes it easy to find a place for installation.
For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 36599/1983 discloses a clothes dryer in which the humid air produced from the laundry contained in a drum during the operation is cooled, the water in the humid air is condensed to lower the absolute humidity, the air is heated by a heater and is supplied again to the drum.
The above clothes dryer has a heat exchanger, and the humid air from the drum (laundry) is sent to the heat exchanger. The temperature of the humid air is lowered by the heat exchanger that is cooled by a cooling fan, such that the water in the air is condensed. The condensed water is drained out of the dryer. Furthermore, the dehumidified air from the heat exchanger having lowered temperature and lowered absolute humidity is heated by the heater, and blown and is recirculated into the drum.
According to the above prior art, the high-temperature and humid air vaporized from the laundry and sent from the drum is sent to the heat exchanger to effect the condensation. The heat exchanger is cooled by the air sucked from the room by the cooling fan. Here, the air (used for cooling) having elevated temperature is sent into the room, and problems are involved as described below.
(1) The temperature of the external air (i.e., the air in the room) for cooling the heat exchanger gradually rises with the passage of operation time, and the degree of offensive feeling of the dwellers increases.
(2) The place for installing the clothes dryer is limited to a spot where the external air can be easily taken in to cool the heat exchanger and then exhausted.
(3) The humid air condensing unit must be provided with a heat exchanger and a cooling fan, causing the clothes dryer to become bulky.